The Sufi Path is a process of amanesis (remembrance, realization). In pre-eternity, God asked the spirits: Alastu bi Rabikum (Am I not your Lord)? When we come into this material existence, we forget about pre-eternity and the task of life is to remember our way back to the truth concerning the nature of our essential relationship with God. This process of remembering or recollecting is known as amanesis.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Fear and the Sufi Path

The following thoughts arose in response to a question by an individual who wanted to know if a Shaykh thought negatively toward those seekers associated with the spiritual teacher who did not fulfill all the requirements of spirituality - whether exoteric or esoteric. Furthermore, this person wondered how, or if, a fear of Divinity fit into a Sufi framework.

It is not the business of a Shaykh to think badly of one's mureeds (i.e., the seekers that God has entrusted to the Shaykh's care). It is the business of the Shaykh to assist a mureed.

This assistance may take a variety of forms in ways permitted by God. The primary objective, however, is to help, God willing, the individual mureed, to discover his or her true identity, as well as to help the individual, God willing, to come to know one's essential, unique capacity for knowing, loving, cherishing, worshiping and serving Divinity.

Notwithstanding the love, compassion and concern which, God willing, a Shaykh has for a mureed, the foregoing should not be construed to mean that the Shaykh does not see the problems a mureed creates for herself or himself -- that is, for the mureed. If the Shaykh sees, by the Light of God's grace, something which is creating obstacles and veils in the spiritual life of a mureed, then the thoughts, efforts, and concentration of the Shaykh will be toward working, God willing, on how to help the person remove those difficulties.

A person's worship or non-worship of God does not, respectively, make God a greater or lesser God. This merely makes the individual a greater or lesser, human being.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was once asked about what the proper relationship should be between hope in relation to God's Mercy concerning our spiritual mistakes and fear of God's displeasure with respect to our spiritual rebellion. The Prophet responded that the two should be in balance with one another.

The sort of balance to which the Prophet was referring could be illustrated by the well-known Yin/Yang symbol of the Taoist tradition. At the heart of each side of the symbol, which is divided in the middle by a synodal-like curve, there is a dot.

The color of the dot in each side is in opposition to the color of the side it is in. Thus, within each side, there is an element of the other opposing side.

In other words, there is some quality of yin in yang, and there is some quality of yang in yin. Neither side is free or independent of the other.

Similarly, in Islam, and on the Sufi path, there is, or should be, an element of hope in fear, and there should be an element of fear in hope. From the human side of things, neither hope nor fear can be, or should be, independent of the other.

The nature of this fear, however, should not be translated in terms of the emotion that people have in trepidation of the consequences which are believed to be forthcoming for having not been a nice, good, well-behaved little boy or girl. The nature of the fear to which the Prophet is alluding is rooted, partly, in having a deep, abiding awe, respect, and heart-felt awareness (according to our capacity) of being constantly in the Presence of Divinity Whose sheer majesty, incomparability, might, grandeur, unknowability, and complete transcendence, renders human existence to the level of insignificance and infinitesimal value, except to the extent that God gives that existence significance and value.

Will the gnat not tremble before the Sun? If the gnat is ignorant and foolish, then, perhaps, not. But, if the gnat is wise, then surely there will be trembling before the Divine Attributes which are jalal (the array of Divine attributes that are subsumed under the general category of Might and Majesty) - and this would be true even if the fate of our heart's did not lie, as is indicated by one of the hadiths or sayings of the Prophet, between the forefingers of a Divine hand (metaphorically speaking) which can turn those hearts in whatever direction is desired by Divinity.

However, our fear also should be rooted in the following kind of understanding . More specifically, one of the reasons why God may get angry with us is because, in going astray from the sirat-ul-mustaqueem (the spiritually straight path) which God has laid out for us with indescribable care, kindness, compassion, wisdom and consideration, we undermine all the spiritual goodness, happiness, love, joy, felicity, nearness, and so on which God wishes to lavish upon us.

We have to want what God wants for us. The stupidity of human beings is that most of us believe that one can equate what the ego/nafs wants with what God wants, and that in pursuing the former, one is supposedly pursuing the latter.

This can never be. Yet, we continually delude ourselves into supposing this to be the way of things.

From Divinity's side, which really is the only side that matters, God wants to give and give and give to us, without end and without measure. From our side of things, which is the only side which does not matter except to the extent that Divinity wishes it to matter, we, in effect, are telling God to drop dead.

In our arrogance, pride, ignorance, stubbornness, density, darkness, rebelliousness, forgetfulness, heedlessness, insincerity, ingratitude and meanness of being, we are saying that we know better than the One Who has created all the worlds and whatever is in them. We are saying to God: despite what You have told us in Your books of Revelation; despite the warnings of the 124,000 Prophets who have come (from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them all); despite the testimony of the Companions, both male and female, of these Prophets; despite the teachings of the people of insight and excellence; despite the evidence of history for all nations and all times, and despite what we ourselves know to the contrary from our everyday experience, we are saying that our friends are: nafs (the seat of rebellion in human beings), Iblis (Satan), dunya (the realm of worldly desire) and the unbelievers (anyone who denies the supremacy of Divinity in all matters).

Why are we saying this? We have allowed ourselves to become habituated to, and hypnotized by, the belief that the ways of Iblis, nafs, the world, and the unbelievers are easier, more convenient, more interesting, more fun, and more liberating than are the ways of Divinity.

As a result we command ourselves to follow the example of the aforementioned unholy four, in preference to all that is good, just, true, beautiful and noble -- within us and without us. In doing so, however, we become bogged down in a morass of spiritual and worldly false-economies through which we have deluded ourselves into believing that we are getting something for nothing when we align with the unholy four, only to find out, subsequently, that there are many, many hidden costs of pain, suffering, and torment for having bartered away a spiritual way of life for extremely ephemeral pleasures and comforts.

We should fear God because we Love Divinity. For, with love, comes the fear of not wanting to let down or disappoint the One we profess to love. We should fear disappointing God or putting ourselves in this kind of situation where such disappointment becomes the inevitable result of our choices and actions.

We should fear having to be dragged before Divinity in the chains of shame with which we shackle ourselves through our acts of commission and omission. This fear comes from the dread of having to face One Who has done so much for us, Who has been so kind and loving and giving and compassionate toward us.

When we look to the quality of Allah's love for us, and, then, we look to the quality of our love for Allah, should we not fear the Day when we can no longer run away from the disparity between the two? Does ingratitude not fear being reminded of its own ingratitude?

Should we not fear that appointed meeting when we must stand mute before the magnificence of Divinity and listen in agonized silence to the unseemly testimony which is brought against us by our hands, feet, eyes and other dimensions of being for having squandered our spiritual inheritance in such thoughtless, ill-conceived, greedy and grasping ways?

Our fear of God is misdirected. we have nothing to fear from Divinity and everything to fear from ourselves. Yet, in a typically human sleight-of-hand, we project our fears on to God because we are in denial about what is the real cause of our fear.

Since God is associated with our fears, we say we fear God. In reality, we fear having to stare into the mirror of Truth concerning ourselves, and poor God takes the rap.

We fear God because Divinity knows the truth about the many times we have soiled ourselves by betraying the trust which has been extended to us. This trust is not just the free will which has been extended to us, nor the spiritual potential which God has secreted within us, nor the responsibility of being God's khalifah throughout creation.

No! God has trusted us to do right by Divinity; to do right by creation; to do right by others, and to do right by ourselves. We have trampled upon this trust. Should we not fear the One Who serves as a reminder to us of these facts, even if nothing at all should be said when we meet with Divinity?

Relative to the bounties and blessings which God is constantly injecting into our lives, very little is being asked of us in return. Mostly, it is a matter of demonstrating some sincere gratitude.

Sincere gratitude is that sphere of human endeavor which is backed up with something beyond a mere profession of the lips. Rather than bear witness to the Oneness of Divinity, or say prayers, or fast, or give zakat (a kind of charity), or do Hajj (pilgrimage to the holy places in and about Mecca during the early part of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar) out of fear of God, why not do these things out of gratitude to Divinity?

Once, after having spent, yet, another night in prayer with, and remembrance of, God, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was asked if it was true that God already had granted the Prophet Paradise. When the Prophet replied in the affirmative, a further question followed: "Then, why do you spend all night in prayer and worship?"

The Prophet's reply was simple. "Should I not be a thankful servant?"

If we are not appreciative of God's kindness to us, God is not hurt or upset for the sake of Divinity. Divinity does not need humanity or its thanks, or lack thereof.

Instead, God feels hurt for our sake. Similarly, God is angry at us for our sake.

God is upset with us because we have brought, or are bringing, upon ourselves our own spiritual demise. We are spoiling everything.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Dear Anab,This is my first reading on your website show that you are a much balanced and advanced seeker of the sufic path.A tiny correction on the proper salawat and salam after mentioning the Prophet name should be 'blessing of Allah and peace be upon him or in arabic 'sallaLlahu alahi wasallam'(S.A.W) not 'peace be upon him (PBUH)/alaihi salam (A.S)that is for other Prophets. This is a recent modernist deviation or error,rarely occur in classical texts but abounded in english/translated texts. Even the Shia used alaihi salam to Sayyidina Ali radhiAllahu anhu.May Allah purify our hearts from hidden defects that put us far from His Witnessing and Love and made us die on the Path of Sunna and longing to meet Him.wassalam cai jian zhen zhu baoyuni.Abdal Halim shinMalaysia

I am exploring the depths of al-Fatiha and wondered if you would be willing to offer an interpetation or a meditation on any aspect of it. The concept of Divine Wrath is one that I have been very shy of. Perhaps, your reading on that topic? My blog can be found at http://jalaledin.blogspot.comKindly use my personal e-mail in response: jalaledin@aol.comLove, light and shadow,Jalaledin